Taking Strides To Minimize Montco’s Carbon Footprint; Who Knew?

By: Irene O’Connell

BLUE BELL, PA--Since 2007, the President’s Climate Commitment Advisory Council, or PCCAC, has been taking strides to minimize Montgomery County Community College’s carbon foot print with its Sustainability Initiative.  The Sustainability Initiative is Montco’s  plan to move toward becoming a “green” campus, extending the life of our planet.

     As part of its commitment to sustainability, Montco has implemented many improvements to reduce its carbon footprint.  Among the many programs in place, the college partnering with Zimride,{a .}  In addition to this, Montco participates in recyclemania, has installed solar panels on the main campus in Blue Bell and wind turbines on the west campus in Pottstown.  The overall plan is to move to a carbon neutral campus as an in-depth, innovative, structured plan by removing and reducing waste and establishing eco-friendly alternatives.

     The Sustainability Initiative is seeing success and has earned Montco  many awards over the last few years.  Including the 2014 climate leadership award along with five other institutions across the country from a national non-profit organization called Second Nature.  However, many Montco students are seemingly unaware of the college’s commitment to sustainability.

     Many of Montco’s students are surprised to find out that Montco is taking significant action to reduce the college’s carbon footprint.  Some students seem not to realize that they’re walking to class on a “green” campus without taking steps toward minimizing their own carbon footprint.

     Assistant Professor of Communications and Coordinator of Speech Communication & Public Relations Tom Donlan is also a member of the PCCAC here at Montco.  As a member of the committee, he spreads information about sustainability efforts to the students in his classes.

     The ongoing issue, he explains, is not enough students are exposed to the information regarding the Sustainability Initiative.  “The problem is making students aware of what the college offers for students committed to ecological endeavors.  This will always be a significant obstacle at a commuter school.”

     Many of the students here at Montco are coming and going with one mission in mind: get to class, do the work specific to that class and go home. Usually students are coming from or headed to work.  Students aren’t actively looking for extracurricular activities to participate in so unless it hits them on the head, students may enroll and graduate without ever knowing that Montco is doing its part to extend the life of the planet.

     “I would like to see more students exposed to sources of information [about sustainability] in their courses,” Donlan says.  “Knowledge is power.”